


Peppermint Schnapps

by keysdimples



Series: Corporate SHINee [1]
Category: K-pop, SHINee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Corporate, Angst?, M/M, Suits, jonghyun being stupid, key being gay, tech guy minho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 12:54:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysdimples/pseuds/keysdimples
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, all Jonghyun wanted to do was jump off a roof.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peppermint Schnapps

**Author's Note:**

> this is what happens when my brother subjects my family to a week long binge of the office

Sometimes, all Jonghyun wanted to do was jump off the roof. As just a lowly salesman who had no chance of climbing the corporate ladder, he had to deal with all the daily demons that plagued his exhausting, dull life. Being last to have a pick at the call list and being stuck with the worst sales history, the printer running out of ink just as he needed to send in a report, running late for the bus, too hot coffee and burning his tongue. It was mostly the little things. But the little things that happened constantly were usually what broke a person. 

It was always a struggle being slightly too smart for where he was in life. The people that surrounded him had no ambitions, no drive. All they cared about was going out for drinks every night and gossiping over the latest celebrity news. More often than not, they preferred to make up rumors of office romances. Jonghyun was so tired. In a way, though, he envied them all. At least they seemed happy.

At least they had friends.

Dressed in the same dingy discount suit day after day, coming up with more and more creative ways to cover up the growing patchwork of coffee stains on his shirt, Jonghyun looked tired. He was tired. Dark circles hung low under his eyes, and his hair was almost always unruly, going in every direction on top of his head. He'd tried to tame that mane of his with all sorts of products and gels and creams, but it was in vain. 

Closer to forty than thirty, perpetually single, living in a crappy apartment he could barely afford, too smart for his department but not smart enough to move up, Jonghyun was stuck. 

He had no motivation, nothing to make him wake up and get out of the daze he'd been living in for years. He was getting sick and tired. Mostly just tired. All he wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

When it all came down to it, Jonghyun was a man who'd given up.

~~~

It finally took the sound of his landlord rapping at his door, demanding for rent, that Jonghyun woke up and realized that something had to be done. If he couldn't get his rent in, he'd be out on the street. In the cold November weather, he'd never make it.

It was on the bus to work that Jonghyun got an idea. Every year, the boss of his firm held a sort of contest, rewarding the employee with the most sales a Christmas bonus.

Jonghyun needed that Christmas bonus. He was going to get that Christmas bonus.

Two weeks after Jonghyun had started selling more enthusiastically, the entire office had long since noticed the change in their usually somber coworker. It was a bit unsettling for some, while others took it as an encouragement to get their own asses into gear. 

The game was definitely on.

~~~

To be perfectly honest, Jonghyun never noticed much of anyone who was around him. He was kind of in his own world most of the time, not bothering to make an effort and establish relationships. But, after he became proactive, Jonghyun began to notice things around him. Like, the way the man two cubicles over always left anonymous treats to everyone in the office, though, everyone knew where they came from. The treats ranged from cheese sticks to iced cupcakes, depending on what day of the week it was. Jonghyun had never questioned where the food had come from, eating it mindlessly. Now, he thanked the man with his own anonymous note on the other's desk, feeling his heart just a little lighter after making someone smile.

There was the receptionist, who always made sure there was a fresh pot of coffee brewing in the break room. Jonghyun had never noticed, never paid attention. He'd feel regret and guilt as he lay on bed at night. Just how many things had he missed over the years? It was like he'd been in a coma, and life was just speeding by without him. It was overwhelming, but he was also excited. He had a lot of catching up to do.

~~~

"Yes, we have your credit card information right here, ma'am," Jonghyun spoked pleasantly into the mouthpiece of his headset as he typed away at his computer, "I just have to finalize a few things, and then everything will be set, you'll have your product sent to you by the end of the month," he clicked, only to have the system freeze up. Frowning, Jonghyun pressed a few buttons, but his computer was unresponsive. Clearing his throat, he forced a smile and spoke, "We're having some minor technical difficulties, but, I assure you, you'll receive and email by the end of the day. Yes. No, thank you. Alright, bye bye,"

Hanging up the phone, Jonghyun slipped off his headset and rubbed his face with frustration, swearing quietly under his breath. Glancing up, he saw his coworker who was the one leaving everyone treats, passing by his cubicle, and Jonghyun pushed away from his desk, letting his wheeled chair roll on the carpet, "Yo, Kim," he called to the slightly younger man, who stopped and turned, blinking his feline eyes.

"Yeah," Kim chirped, indicating that he was listening.

"Is Wu here today? My computer's being dumb," Jonghyun explained, gesturing to the wretched machine behind him.

Kim chortled and put a hand on his hip, holding the stack of papers he had in his other hand, "You haven't heard? He quit last week. His replacement got here yesterday. Choi I think is his name,"

Jonghyun frowned. He hadn't heard that his favorite IT guy had quit. It was a shame, "Oh. Okay, so, does he have a call number, or do I just call the IT department,"

"Call the IT department, for sure. Anyway, gotta run, dude. Good luck on your computer!" Kim gave a wave and a theatrical flip of his tie over one shoulder, and walked away. 

"Thanks, man," Jonghyun shook his head with amusement as he watched the other leave.

Sliding back over to his desk, Jonghyun picked up the phone again, dialing the in building code that connected him to the IT department. It rang twice before it clicked, and a surprisingly deep voice answered, "IT, this is Choi, can I help you?" the voice, although deep, was pleasant to Jonghyun's ears, and he wondered if the owner was smiling or not. It didn't sound like it. 

"Yes, um, this is Kim from sales, I was wondering if I could get some help with my computer? It's unresponsive, and, I don't want to accidentally press something and ruin it..." Jonghyun said, trailing off a bit near the end.

There was a rustling on the other end of the phone, as if Choi was getting up, "Alright," there was a slight chortle in the man's rumbling voice, "Sales you said? I'll be right over,"

Jonghyun relaxed with a sigh, and leaned back in his chair, grinning, "Thanks a bunch, really. Cubicle twelve," they exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

Getting up and stretching, Jonghyun yawned before cracking his neck. IT was a few floors down, so he had a few minutes before Choi would arrive. Shuffling into the break room, he took two paper cups and filled them with coffee. He added milk and sugar to his own, and stirred a few times. It occurred to him that he didn't know how the IT man took his coffee, and shuffled awkwardly before the cup for a few seconds before he decided to just take along some sugar and creamer back to his cubicle. The worst case scenario, he could just add them to his own coffee.

The salesman had just set the cups down on his desk and sat down, when he heard a soft knocking at the entrance of his cubicle, "Kim?" that same deep voice rang in his ears.

Turning, Jonghyun blinked, getting to his feet, "Hey, IT guy?" he smiled when the man nodded, stepping into the cubicle, "Choi, right?" the salesman bowed and offered his hand to shake. Choi regarded it before shaking it, grip strong. 

Jonghyun wasn't really surprised when he saw that Choi was taller than he was. Most everyone was taller than him. And these days, as he was getting older, he was starting to shrink. Call him paranoid, but he was sure of it. What did surprise him was that Jonghyun figured Choi wasn't much younger than he was. Usually, IT guys were young and right out of college, but not Choi.

Clearing his throat, Jonghyun gesture to his office chair, "Here, sit. The culprit is right over there," Choi sat down and looked at the computer screen, reading the error message with furrowed brows, "I couldn't really tell you what happened, because I honestly don't know," Jonghyun chuckled awkwardly from his spot behind the chair, watching the screen.

Choi let out a huff through his nose that was one of amusement, and he hummed lowly in his throat, "Not to worry. This is a fairly harmless problem," he said, long fingers clicking away at the keyboard. Within seconds, the computer was beginning to restart. Sliding away from the desk, Choi had a small smile of self satisfaction on his face that Jonghyun noticed, but wondered if anyone else could, "There," Choi hummed.

"Really? Oh my god, you're a magician!" Jonghyun grinned and bowed in thanks. Picking up the cup from his desk, he offered it to Choi, "Coffee? I don't know how you take it, so I brought everything along," the salesman said rather sheepishly, watching as the IT man took the cup and smelled the warm beverage.

"Thank you," Choi said genuinely, adding some sugar and creamer, causing Jonghyun to sigh with internal relief, and grin on the outside.

Taking his empty wastebasket, Jonghyun turned it over and sat on it, taking his own coffee cup and sipping from it, "Anytime,"

Choi glanced at the salesman with dark eyes. He said nothing, but something about the way he looked at Jonghyun had the shorter thinking that a lot was being communicated, "You're different," the man finally said, causing Jonghyun to jump slightly after being in silence for a while.

The salesman blinked idiotically, "Different?"

The slightest glimmer of a grin sparkled in Choi's dark eyes as he kept them trained on Jonghyun, even as he drank from his cup, "Yeah. Different,"

 

To be continued...


End file.
